A California man was arrested Saturday afternoon by Oregon State Police (OSP) troopers after operating a motorcycle recklessly at high speeds near Gold Hill in Jackson County.

According to Sergeant Jeff Allison, on January 4, 2014 at abut 1:30 p.m., an OSP trooper observing traffic near Valley of the Rogue rest area saw a silver Suzuki motorcycle southbound at a high rate of speed. The motorcycle was checked by the trooper's radar at over 100 mph.

Due to high traffic flow, the trooper was unable to safely overtake the motorcycle but did observe it weaving in and out of traffic in a dangerous manner at over 100 mph. At one point the motorcycle passed a vehicle on the inside median, almost causing a crash.

An OSP sergeant was completing a traffic stop just south of the reckless motorcycle and set up to intercept it. The motorcyclist was stopped near milepost 38 southbound on Blackwell Hill, just south of Gold Hill. The operator, PATRICK WHALEN PARKS, age 21, from El Sobrante, California, was taken into custody by the troopers.